In September the division had advanced to the River Verman (Vermanjoki), here the offensive finally stalled, during the fall of 1941 AOK Norwegen decided to shifts its attack to the area held by the Finnish 3rd Division. The 169th Division stayed in the area around Salla until the beginning of hostilities between Finland and Germany in 1944. During 1944 the division withdrew back to Norway, then was transferred to Germany where it fought out the final few weeks of the war.

1.
Nazi Germany
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Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943

2.
German Army (Wehrmacht)
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The German Army was the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the regular German Armed Forces, from 1935 until it was demobilized and later dissolved in August 1946. The Wehrmacht also included the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe, during World War II, a total of about 13 million soldiers served in the German Army. Only 17 months after Adolf Hitler announced publicly the rearmament program, during the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938, four corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the Anschluss in March. During the period of its expansion by Adolf Hitler, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground, the German Army entered the war with a majority of its infantry formations relying on horse-drawn transport. The infantry remained foot soldiers throughout the war, artillery also remained primarily horse-drawn, however their motorized and tank formations accounted for only 20% of the Heers capacity at their peak strength. The armys lack of trucks was a handicap to infantry movement especially during. Panzer movements also depended upon rail, driving a tank over 150 kilometers wore out its tracks, the Oberkommando des Heeres was Germanys Army High Command from 1936 to 1945. In theory the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht served as the military General Staff for the German Reichs armed forces, in practice OKW acted in a subordinate role as Hitlers personal military staff, translating his ideas into military plans and orders, and issuing them to the three services. However, as the war progressed the OKW found itself exercising increasing amounts of direct command authority over military units and this created a situation where by 1943 the OKW was the de facto command of Western Theatre forces while the Army High Command is the same on the Eastern Front. The Abwehr was the Army intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944, the term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germanys post-World War I intelligence activities be for defensive purposes only. After 4 February 1938, its title was Overseas Department/Office in Defence of the Armed Forces High Command, the method OKW adopted was to separate the Field Army from the Home Command, and to entrust the responsibilities of training, conscription, supply and equipment to Home Command. The German Army was mainly structured in Army groups consisting of several armies that were relocated, restructured or renamed in the course of the war, Forces or allied states as well as units made up of non-Germans were also assigned to German units. The army used the German term Kampfgruppe which equates to the English combat group or battle group and these provisional combat groupings ranged from an Army Corps size such as Army Detachment Kempf to commands composed of several companies and even platoons. They were named for their commanding officers, German operational doctrine emphasized sweeping pincer and lateral movements meant to destroy the enemy forces as quickly as possible. This approach, referred to as Blitzkrieg, was an operational doctrine instrumental in the success of the offensives in Poland, the military strength of the German army was managed through mission-based tactics, and an almost proverbial discipline. Once an operation began, whether offensive or defensive, speed in response to changing circumstances was considered more important than careful planning and coordination of new plans. These technologies were featured by propaganda, but were only available in small numbers or late in the war, as overall supplies of raw materials

3.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice

4.
Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II

5.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan

6.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form

7.
Manstein Plan
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The Manstein Plan is one of the names used to describe the war plan of the German Army during the Battle of France in 1940. The original invasion plan was a compromise devised by Franz Halder, some documents containing details of the plan fell into Belgian hands during the Mechelen incident of 10 January 1940 and the plan was revised several times. The versions of the plan increased the emphasis of an attack by Army Group A through the Ardennes, the Manstein Plan was a counterpart to the French Dyle Plan for the Battle of France. Lieutenant General Erich von Manstein dissented from the 1939 versions of Fall Gelb, a plan for an invasion of France, Manstein first thought to follow annihilation theory, envisaging a swing from Sedan to the north, rapidly to annihilate the Allied armies in a cauldron battle. His views were rejected by Halder and Walther von Brauchitsch, reformulating them in a more radical sense did not help and in late January, Halder removed Manstein by having him promoted commander of XXXVIII Army Corps in east Germany. On 1 September 1938, Halder had replaced Beck instead of Manstein, having found Halders plans unsatisfactory from the very beginning, Hitler ordered a change of strategy on 13 February in accordance with Mansteins thinking, having heard an outline. The general was invited to the Reich Chancellery in Berlin to explain his plans to Hitler on 17 February, during a lunch in the presence of Alfred Jodl. Though Hitler felt an immediate antipathy against Manstein for being too arrogant and aloof, certainly an exceptionally clever fellow, with great operational gifts, but I dont trust him Hitler remarked after Manstein had left. Manstein took no part in the planning and returned to east Germany. Halder had to revise the plan again, which became Aufmarschanweisung N°4, the new plan conformed to Mansteins thinking in that Army Group A would provide the main thrust of the invasion through the Ardennes in southern Belgium. The revision was a change in emphasis, in which Halder no longer envisaged a simultaneous secondary attack to the west. The armoured divisions should then advance together with the infantry divisions, Halder rejected the idea simultaneous attack to the south to occupy the area that the French would want to use to deploy for a counter-offensive, to defeat the attempt before it began. The XV Corps moved through the upper Ardennes with two divisions towards Dinant as a flank guard against a counter-attack from the north. From 10–11 May, the XIX Panzer Corps engaged the two divisions of the Second Army, surprised them with a far larger force than expected and forced the French back. The Ninth Army to the north had also sent its two divisions forward, which were withdrawn on 12 May before they met German troops. Corap needed the cavalry divisions to reinforce the defences on the Meuse, because some of the infantry had not arrived. The most advanced German units reached the Meuse in the afternoon but the local French commanders thought that they were far ahead of the main body, against the plan, Guderian and the other panzer generals, Rommel among them, disobeyed orders and quickly advanced to the English Channel. The effects of the Manstein Plan were devastating for the Allied armies, as they were encircled by Army Groups A and B, leading to Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk

8.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks

9.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian

10.
Lapland (Finland)
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Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council, Lapland borders the region of Northern Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Finnmark County and Troms County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. The area of Lapland region is 100,367 km², which consists of 92,667 km²of dry land,6,316 km² fresh water and 1,383 km² of sea areas. In south it borders Northern Ostrobothnia region, in west Sweden, in north and west Norway and its borders follow three rivers, Tana, Muonio and Torne. The largest lake is Lake Inari,1,102 km², highest point is on Halti, which reaches 1,324 m on Finnish side of the border. There are eight national parks in Lapland, Bothnian Bay, Lemmenjoki, Oulanka, Pallas-Yllästunturi, Pyhä-Luosto, Riisitunturi, Syöte, the very first snowflakes fall to the ground in late August or early September over the higher peaks. The first ground-covering snow arrives in average in October or late September, permanent snow cover comes between mid-October and end of November, significantly earlier than in southern Finland. The winter is long, approximately seven months, the snow cover is usually thickest in early April. Soon after that the snow starts to melt fast. The thickest snow cover ever was measured in Kilpisjärvi in 19 April 1997, due to the warming effect of the Arctic Sea, the coldest spot is not located in northernmost Lapland but in the north-western corner. The annual mean temperature varies from a couple of degrees below zero in Northwest to a couple of degrees above zero in the southwest, the area of Lapland was split between two counties of the Swedish Realm from 1634 to 1809. The northern and western areas were part of Västerbotten County, while the areas were part of Ostrobothnia County. The northern and western areas were transferred in 1809 to Oulu County, under the royalist constitution of Finland during the first half of 1918, Lapland was to become a Grand Principality and part of the inheritance of the proposed king of Finland. Lapland Province was separated from Oulu Province in 1938, during the Interim Peace and beginning of the Continuation War the government of Finland allowed the Nazi German Army to station itself in Lapland as a part of Operation Barbarossa. After Finland made a peace with the Soviet Union in 1944. The result was the Lapland War, during which almost the whole population of Lapland was evacuated. The Germans used scorched earth tactics in Lapland, before they withdrew to Norway, ninety percent of Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, was burned to the ground, with only a few pre-war buildings surviving the destruction

11.
6th SS Mountain Division Nord
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The 6th SS Mountain Division Nord was a German unit of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord. The division was the only Waffen-SS unit to fight in the Arctic Circle when it was stationed in Finland and it fought in Karelia until the Moscow Armistice in September 1944, at which point it left Finland. It fought in the Operation Nordwind in January 1945, where it suffered heavy losses, in early April 1945, the division was destroyed by the U. S. forces near Budingen, Germany. The division was formed from the units of the SS-Totenkopfverbände to guard the border with the Soviet Union following the 1940 German occupation of Norway. In the spring of 1941, the newly formed division was moved into positions at Salla in northern Finland with General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst in command, during the invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, the unit took part in Operation Arctic Fox. The Brigade got a new unit attached, SS Gebirgsjäger Artillery Regiment 6, and was now designated as a Division, in September 1941 the division was attached to the Finnish III Corps under General Hjalmar Siilasvuo, and took up new positions at Louhi, Kiestinki. By the end of 1941, it had suffered heavy casualties, over the winter of 1941–42 it received replacements from the general pool of Waffen-SS recruits. Throughout the rest of 1942 and through 1943 it remained on the Kestenga front, in September 1942, the unit was renamed as the SS Mountain Division Nord. In September 1944 it was ordered to withdraw from Finland, upon the conclusion of an armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union. The Norwegian Ski-Battalion unit was left behind, in accordance with their contracts. They were merged into SS-und-Schi-Jäger-Polizei-Battalion 506 with app. 50% men from different German Police units in South Norway, the rest of the division was transferred to Germany. The division briefly refitted in Denmark where its losses were replaced by young Volksdeutsche who had been conscripted into the Waffen-SS, the division took part in Operation Nordwind in the Low Vosges mountains of southeastern France. By 2 January, part of the division went into action against the U. S. 45th Infantry Division, attached to 361st Volksgrenadier Division. For six days the SS men fought in and around the town of Wingen, on 16 January, the SS Regiment 11 surrounded six companies of the American 157th Infantry Regiment. The American troops were forced to surrender three days later, losing 482 men, Nord advanced for four more days before being stopped by American counterattacks. The division remained on the front after the Nordwind offensive, fighting American forces around Trier. By Easter 1945 it numbered about 2,000 soldiers, including stragglers from other units and it still had six howitzers and an assault gun. The division refused to give up, and moved east to re-establish contact with other German units, however, as it moved, it drew the attention of the US Army by cutting American lines of communication

12.
Kandalaksha
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Kandalaksha is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, north of the Arctic Circle. The settlement has existed since the 11th century, in the 13th century, it became a part of the Novgorod Republic along with the southern part of the Kola Peninsula, and in 1478 was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1915, the construction of a seaport started, and in 1918 a railroad connecting Moscow to Murmansk running through Kandalaksha was opened. On August 29,1927, Kandalaksha was made the center of the newly established Kandalakshsky District. Status of a town of significance was granted to it on April 20,1938. On February 9,1940, Kandalaksha was administratively separated from the district, in July 1941, during World War II, the town was the primary target of an unsuccessful German-Finnish offensive which attempted to cut the strategic Murman Railway. While the district was nominally retained as an administrative division. Since 1995, Vitino oil port operates near Beloye More a few south of Kandalaksha. Kandalaksha Mayor Nina Varlamova was murdered in an attack in December 2008, Kandalaksha is twinned with, Kemijärvi, Finland Piteå, Sweden Архивный отдел Администрации Мурманской области. Media related to Kandalaksha at Wikimedia Commons Kandalaksha Nature Reserve Information about Kandalaksha for tourists

13.
White Sea
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The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, the whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of the internal waters of Russia. Administratively, it is divided between Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Oblasts and the Republic of Karelia, the major port of Arkhangelsk is located on the White Sea. For much of Russias history this was Russias main centre of maritime trade. In the modern era it became an important Soviet naval and submarine base, the White Sea-Baltic Canal connects the White Sea with the Baltic Sea. The White Sea is one of four seas named in English after common colour terms — the others being the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the northern limit of the White Sea as A line joining Svyatoi Nos and Cape Kanin. There are four main bays or gulfs on the White Sea and these bays connect with the funnel-shaped opening to the Barents Sea via a narrow strait called gorlo. Kandalaksha Gulf lies in the part of the White Sea, it is the deepest part of the sea. On the south, Onega Bay receives the Onega River, to the southeast, the Dvina Bay receives the Northern Dvina River at the major port of Arkhangelsk. On the east side of the gorlo, opposite the Kola peninsula, is Mezen Bay and it receives the Mezen River and the Kuloy River. Other major rivers flowing into the sea are the Vyg, Niva, Umba, Varzuga and Ponoy. The seabed of the part and Dvina Bay is covered in silt and sand, whereas the bottom of the northern part. Ice age deposits often emerge near the sea shores, northwestern coasts are tall and rocky but the slope is much weaker at the southeastern side. The White Sea contains a number of islands, but most of them are small. The main island group is the Solovetsky Islands, located almost in the middle of the sea, kiy Island in Onega Bay is significant due to a historic monastery. Velikiy Island, located close to the shore, is the largest island in the Kandalaksha Gulf, the White Sea is a water-filled depression in the block of a continental shelf known as the Baltic Shield. Its bottom is very uneven and contains the Kandalaksha Hollow in the northwest, also, the Onega Bay has many small underwater elevations. The opening and the gorlo of the sea are rather shallow, in addition, there is an underwater ridge in the northern part of the gorlo, resulting in maximum depths of 40 metres in that part

14.
Salla
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Salla is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of 3,705 and covers an area of 5,730.06 square kilometres of which 142.73 km2 is water, the population density is 0.65 inhabitants per square kilometre. Neighbour municipalities are Kemijärvi, Kuusamo, Pelkosenniemi, Posio and Savukoski, the nearby settlement of Sallatunturi is home to the Salla Ski Resort. Salla is in the Eastern Lapland and as an area was affected by the Second World War. Red Army troops invaded Finland at Salla during the Winter War but were stopped by the Finnish Army, parts of the municipality were ceded to the Soviet Union after the war. The ceded part is sometimes called Old Salla or Vanha Salla, during the Continuation War the old town of Salla was on the Soviet side of the border. The German XXXVI Corps attacked the Soviet positions in an operation code-named Polarfuchs, with the help of the Finnish 6th Division it managed to occupy all of the ceded territories. At the end of the war the German troops were pushed out of Lapland by Finnish troops in the Lapland War, the following villages were ceded to the Soviet Union, Alakurtti, Korja, Kuolajärvi, Lampela, Sallansuu, Yläkurtti, Sovajärvi, Tuutijärvi and Vuorijärvi. Salla is the terminus of a railway line from Kemijärvi. In 2006, the Finnish Rail Administration announced proposals to close the line, the line formerly extended beyond Salla into Russia

15.
Winter War
–
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939–1940. It began with the Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, the League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 December 1939. Finland refused and the USSR invaded the country, the Soviets possessed more than three times as many soldiers as the Finns, thirty times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. The Red Army, however, had been crippled by Soviet leader Joseph Stalins Great Purge of 1937. With more than 30,000 of its officers executed or imprisoned, including most of those of the highest ranks, because of these factors, and high morale in the Finnish forces, Finland repelled Soviet attacks for several months, much longer than the Soviets expected. However, after reorganization and adoption of different tactics, the renewed Soviet offensive overcame Finnish defenses at the borders, hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty. Finland ceded territory representing 11% of its area and 13% of its economy to the Soviet Union. Soviet losses were heavy, and the international reputation suffered. While the Soviet Union did not conquer all Finland, Soviet gains exceeded their pre-war demands and they gained substantial territory along Lake Ladoga, providing a buffer for Leningrad, and territory in northern Finland. Finland retained its sovereignty and enhanced its international reputation, the end of the war cancelled the Franco-British plan to send troops to Finland through northern Scandinavia. One of the goals of the projected Franco-British operation had been to take control of northern Swedens iron ore. For this reason it was also a factor in the launching of Operation Weserübung, Nazi Germanys invasion of Denmark. The poor performance of the Red Army encouraged Hitler to think that an attack on the Soviet Union would be successful, until the beginning of the 19th century, Finland constituted the eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden. In 1809, to protect their capital, Saint Petersburg. While abortive because of Russias internal strife, these attempts ruined Russias relations with the Finns, the new Bolshevik Russian government was weak, and with the threat of civil war looming Soviet Russia recognized the new Finnish government just three weeks after the declaration of independence. Sovereignty was fully achieved in May 1918 after a civil war. Finland joined the League of Nations in 1920, from which it sought security guarantees, nevertheless, the government of Sweden carefully avoided committing itself to Finnish foreign policy. Another Finnish military policy was the top secret military cooperation between Finland and Estonia, the 1920s and early 1930s were a politically unstable time in Finland

16.
Lapland War
–
The Lapland War was fought between Finland and Germany from September 1944 to April 1945 in Finlands northernmost Lapland Province. For the Finns, this was a conflict, much like the Continuation War. The Finnish Army was required to demobilise their forces while at the time fighting to force the German Army to leave Finland. Germany and Finland had been at war with the Soviet Union since June 1941, however, as early as the summer of 1943, the German High Command began making plans for the eventuality that Finland might make a separate peace agreement with the Soviet Union. The Germans planned to withdraw their forces northward in order to shield the nickel mines near Petsamo, during the winter of 1943–1944, the Germans improved the roads from northern Norway to northern Finland by extensive use of prisoner of war labour in certain areas. Casualties among these POWs were high, in part because many of them had been captured in southern Europe and were still in summer uniform. In addition, the Germans surveyed defensive positions and planned to evacuate as much material as possible from the region, on 9 April 1944, the German withdrawal was named Operation Birke. In June 1944 the Germans started constructing fortifications against an advance from the south. The accidental death of Generaloberst Eduard Dietl on 23 June 1944 brought Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic to the command of the 20th Mountain Army, a change of Finnish leadership in early August 1944 led the Germans to believe that Finland would try to achieve a separate agreement with the Soviet Union. The Finnish announcement of the ceasefire triggered frantic efforts in the German 20th Mountain Army, large amounts of materiel were evacuated from southern Finland and harsh punishments were set for any hindering of the withdrawal. Finnish forces, which included the 3rd, 6th, and 11th divisions, on 2 September 1944, after the Finns informed the Germans of the cease fire between Finland and the Soviet Union, the Germans started seizing Finnish shipping. However, since this action resulted in a Finnish decision to not allow ships to sail from Finland to Germany, after the order was called off, the Finns, in turn, allowed Finnish tonnage to be used to hasten the German evacuations. On 15 September 1944, the German Navy tried to seize Hogland island in Operation Tanne Ost, in response, Finland immediately removed its shipping from the joint evacuation operation. The last German convoy departed from Kemi on 21 September 1944 and was escorted by both submarines and in addition by German cruisers. After the landing attempt, a Finnish coastal artillery fort prevented German netlayers from passing into the Baltic Sea at Utö on 15 September, however, on 16 September, a German naval detachment consisting of the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen escorted by five destroyers, arrived at Utö. The German cruiser stayed out of range of the Finnish 152 mm guns, in order to avoid bloodshed, the Finns allowed the netlayers to pass. A Finnish landing operation started on 30 September 1944 when three transport ships without escorts departed from Oulu towards Tornio and they arrived on 1 October and managed to disembark their troops without any interference. A second wave of four ships arrived on 2 October and a third wave – three ships strong – managed to disembark with only a ship being lightly damaged by German dive bombers

17.
General officer
–
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia, mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles

18.
Heinrich Kirchheim
–
Heinrich Kirchheim was a German generalleutnant who served in both World War I and World War II. He is also one of few German officers who were awarded the Pour le Mérite,1 May 1899, Entered the Army as a Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Friedrich der Niederlande Nr.15. 1 October 1904, Transferred to the Protection Troops in German Southwest Africa,10 March 1914, Transferred to the Magdeburgisches Jäger-Bataillon Nr.4. 1 August 1914, Company Leader in Jäger Battalion 4,15 August 1916, Commander of the Hannoversches Jäger-Bataillon Nr.10. 27 January 1919, Commander of the Volunteer Hannoverian Jäger Battalion “Kirchheim. ”2 August 1919, Detached to the Prussian War Ministry,1 January 1921, Company Chief in the 17th Infantry Regiment upon the formation of the new Reichsheer from the Übergangsheer or Transitional Army. 1 May 1923, On the staff of the 1st Cavalry Division,15 May 1926, Commander of the I. Battalion of an infantry regiment – possibly the 7th Infantry Regiment,1 February 1930, Commandant of Glatz. 31 March 1932, Retired from the Army,1 October 1934, Reactivated in the Army and appointed Commander of the Training Battalion of Infantry Regiment “Arnsberg. ”15 November 1934, Delegated with the post of head of the Köln Military Area Command. 7 March 1936, Commander of the Köln Military Area Command,1 June 1938, Commander of the Wien I Military Area Command. 1 October 1939, Commander of Infantry Regiment 276 of the 94th Infantry Division,1 December 1939 –31 January 1941, Commander of the 169th Infantry Division. 1 March 1941, As leader of Special Staff Libya, he was delegated with the leadership of elements of the Italian 27th Brescia Infantry Division. Arriving in Libya on 24 February 1941, Kirchheim and his staff consisted of officers with military experience in Africa prior to. During Rommel’s first offensive in Cyrenaica, Generalmajor Kirchheim led the group that pushed up the Via Balbia coast road from Agedabia. Upon reaching Benghazi on 4 April 1941, Kirchheim’s force split into two columns, the German Reconnaissance Battalion 3, commanded by Oberstleutnant Irnfried Freiherr von Wechmar, hooked east and crossed the desert south of the Jebel el Akdar hills to Mechili. Securing northern Cyrenaica, Kirchheim’s Brescia column linked up with the German Machinegun Battalion 8, commanded by Oberstleutnant Gustav Ponath, following his advance up the Via Balbia, Generalmajor Kirchheim next saw action during Rommel’s attempt to seize the critical coastal fortress of Tobruk. Though the group did seize the ground, the attempt to capture Tobruk failed after suffering the loss of almost 1,400 German and Italian dead, wounded. Rommel was dissatisfied with Kirchheim, and replaced him with Johann von Ravenstein on 30 May,15 June 1941, Leader of Special Staff Tropics in the Army High Command. 15 March 1943, Leader of Special Staff C under the Chief of Army Armaments, the court members consisted of Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt, Generaloberst Heinz Guderian, General der Infanterie Walter Schroth and Generalleutnant Karl-Wilhelm Specht

19.
Continuation War
–
The Continuation War consisted of hostilities between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944. The Continuation War began shortly after the end of the Winter War, in the Soviet Union, the war was considered part of the Great Patriotic War. Germany regarded its operations in the region as part of its war efforts on the Eastern Front. Acts of war between the Soviet Union and Finland recommenced on 22 June 1941, the day Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union, open warfare began with a Soviet air offensive on 25 June. Subsequent Finnish operations undid its post-Winter War concessions to the Soviet Union on the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia, on the Karelian Isthmus, the Finns halted their offensive 30 km from Leningrad, at the pre-World War II border between the Soviet Union and Finland. Finnish forces did not participate in the siege of Leningrad directly, in 1944, Soviet air forces conducted air raids on Helsinki and other major Finnish cities. A ceasefire ended hostilities on 5 September and was followed by the Moscow Armistice on 19 September, the 1947 Paris peace treaty concluded the war formally. Finland ceded Pechengsky District to the Soviets, leased Porkkala peninsula to them, shortly afterward, Germany invaded Poland and as a result the United Kingdom and France declared war against Germany. The Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland on 17 September, next, Moscow demanded that the Baltic states allow the establishment of Soviet military bases and the stationing of troops on their soil. The Baltic governments accepted these ultimatums, signing corresponding agreements in September and October 1939, the Finnish government refused, and the Red Army attacked Finland on 30 November 1939. Condemnation of the Soviets by the League of Nations and by all over the world had no effect on Soviet policy. International help for Finland was planned, but very little actual help materialized, the Moscow Peace Treaty, which was signed on 12 March 1940, ended the Winter War. By the terms of the treaty, Finland lost one eleventh of its national territory, however, Finland had avoided having the Soviet Union annex the whole country. Finlands foreign policy had been based on multilateral guarantees for support from the League of Nations, Finnish public opinion favored the reconquest of Finnish Karelia. Finlands government declared the countrys defense to be its first priority, Finland purchased and received donations of war material during and immediately after the Winter War. On Finlands southern frontier the Soviet Union had acquired a base in Hanko near the capital Helsinki. Finland also had to resettle some 420,000 evacuees from the lost territories, to ensure the supply of food, it was necessary to clear new land for the evacuees to cultivate. This was facilitated by the Rapid Settlement Act, the Finnish leadership wanted to preserve the spirit of unanimity that was commonly felt throughout the country during the Winter War

20.
Military organization
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Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer military capability required by the national defense policy. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in an armed forces. Armed forces that are not a part of military or paramilitary organizations, such as insurgent forces, often mimic military organizations, the use of formalized ranks in a hierarchical structure came into widespread use with the Roman Army. These in turn manage Armed Services that themselves command combat, combat support and combat support formations. Within each departmental agency will be found administrative branches responsible for further agency business specialization work, in most countries the armed forces are divided into three or four Armed services, army, navy, and air force. Many countries have a variation on the model of three or four basic Armed Services. Some nations also organize their marines, special forces or strategic missile forces as independent armed services, a nations coast guard may also be an independent military branch of its military, although in many nations the coast guard is a law enforcement or civil agency. A number of countries have no navy, for geographical reasons, most smaller countries have a single organization that encompasses all armed forces employed by the country in question. Third-world armies tend to consist primarily of infantry, while first-world armies tend to have larger units manning expensive equipment and it is worthwhile to make mention of the term joint. In western militaries, a joint force is defined as a unit or formation comprising representation of power from two or more branches of the military. It is common, at least in the European and North American militaries, to refer to the blocks of a military as commands, formations. In a military context, a command is a collection of units and it is not uncommon for a nations services to each consist of their own command, but this does not preclude the existence of commands which are not service-based. A formation is defined by the US Department of Defense as two or more aircraft, ships, or units proceeding together under a commander. The formations only differ in their ability to achieve different scales of application of force to achieve different strategic, operational and tactical goals and it is a composite military organization that includes a mixture of integrated and operationally attached sub-units, and is usually combat-capable. Example of formations include, divisions, brigades, battalions, wings, formation may also refer to tactical formation, the physical arrangement or disposition of troops and weapons. Examples of formation in such usage include, pakfront, panzerkeil, testudo formation, any unit subordinate to another unit is considered its sub-unit or minor unit. It is not uncommon for unit and formation to be used synonymously in the United States, in Commonwealth practice, formation is not used for smaller organizations like battalions which are instead called units, and their constituent platoons or companies are referred to as sub-units. In the Commonwealth, formations are divisions, brigades, etc, different armed forces, and even different branches of service of the armed forces, may use the same name to denote different types of organizations

21.
Wehrmacht
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The Wehrmacht was the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1946. It consisted of the Heer, the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe, after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler’s most overt and audacious moves was to establish the Wehrmacht, a modern armed forces fully capable of offensive use. In December 1941, Hitler designated himself as commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht, the Wehrmacht formed the heart of Germany’s politico-military power. In the early part of World War II, Hitlers generals employed the Wehrmacht through innovative combined arms tactics to devastating effect in what was called a Blitzkrieg, the Wehrmachts new military structure, unique combat techniques, newly developed weapons, and unprecedented speed and brutality crushed their opponents. Closely cooperating with the SS, the German armed forces committed war crimes and atrocities. By the time the war ended in Europe in May 1945, only a few of the Wehrmacht’s upper leadership were tried for war crimes, despite evidence suggesting that more were involved in illegal actions. The German term Wehrmacht generically describes any nations armed forces, for example, the Frankfurt Constitution of 1848 designated all German military forces as the German Wehrmacht, consisting of the Seemacht and the Landmacht. In 1919, the term Wehrmacht also appears in Article 47 of the Weimar Constitution, establishing that, from 1919, Germanys national defense force was known as the Reichswehr, a name that was dropped in favor of Wehrmacht on 21 May 1935. In January 1919, after World War I ended with the signing of the armistice of 11 November 1918, in March 1919, the national assembly passed a law founding a 420, 000-strong preliminary army, the Vorläufige Reichswehr. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced in May, the army was limited to one hundred thousand men with an additional fifteen thousand in the navy. The fleet was to consist of at most six battleships, six cruisers, submarines, tanks and heavy artillery were forbidden and the air-force was dissolved. A new post-war military, the Reichswehr, was established on 23 March 1921, General conscription was abolished under another mandate of the Versailles treaty. The Reichswehr was limited to 115,000 men, and thus the armed forces, under the leadership of Hans von Seeckt, though Seeckt retired in 1926, the army that went to war in 1939 was largely his creation. Germany was forbidden to have an air-force by the Versailles treaty, nonetheless and these officers saw the role of an air-force as winning air-superiority, tactical and strategic bombing and providing ground support. That the Luftwaffe did not develop a strategic bombing force in the 1930s was not due to a lack of interest, but because of economic limitations. The leadership of the Navy led by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, officers who believed in submarine warfare led by Admiral Karl Dönitz were in a minority before 1939. By 1922, Germany had begun covertly circumventing the conditions of the Versailles Treaty, a secret collaboration with the Soviet Union began after the treaty of Rapallo. Major-General Otto Hasse traveled to Moscow in 1923 to further negotiate the terms, Germany helped the Soviet Union with industrialization and Soviet officers were to be trained in Germany

22.
3rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
–
The 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army that fought in World War II. The division was established under the cover name Wehrgauleitung Frankfurt in 1934 by expanding the 3rd Division of the Reichswehr and it was redesignated Kommandant von Frankfurt shortly afterward, and took on its bona fide name when the formation of the Wehrmacht was announced in October 1935. In March 1939 the division part in the invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia. During World War II the division part in the invasion of Poland in September 1939 where it was part of the German 4th Army. It then took part in the invasion of France in May 1940, in October that year it returned to Germany and was upgraded to a fully motorized division. Redesignated the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division it took part in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, in October the division was transferred to Army Group Center for Operation Typhoon and the Battle of Moscow and the defensive battles of the winter. It was reconstituted as the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division in March, absorbing the 386th Motorized Division in the process. It then fought on the Italian Front until the summer of 1944, when it was transferred to the Western Front to help re-establish the front line after the Allied breakout from the Normandy beachhead

23.
10th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
–
The German 10th Infantry Division was created in October 1934 under the cover name Wehrgauleitung Regensburg to hide its violation of the Treaty of Versailles. It was renamed the 10th Infantry Division when the establishment of the Wehrmacht was announced publicly in October 1935, the division participated in the annexation of Austria in March 1938, the invasion of Poland in September 1939, and the invasion of France in May 1940. Thereafter it was upgraded to the 10th Motorized Infantry Division and it was later redesignated 10th Panzergrenadier Division in June 1943. In August 1944 the division was destroyed in the Battle of Kiev and it was partially reconstituted in Germany in October, and sent back to the front as an understrength Kampfgruppe. It was destroyed again in Poland in January 1945 and again partially reconstituted in February, the division finally surrendered to the Soviets in Czechoslovakia at the end of the war. Elements of the division part in atrocities against the civilian population during the invasion of Poland. Together with elements of the 17th Infantry Division, they part in the murder of at least 14 civilians during the Divisions advance towards Sieradz. 10th Divisional Support Units Beobachtungs-Abteilung 10, company Ernst Liebl, 41st Infantry Regiment Note, The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the units entire history. German Book – History of the 10, Division from August Schmidt 1963 Pipes, Jason. Retrieved 10 April 2005 Wendel, Marcus, German language article at www. lexikon-der-wehrmacht. de, with photos. Retrieved 10 April 2005 Witold Kulesza Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu w Polsce wrzesień1939 IPN Bulletin 43–44 Burkhard Müller-Hillebrand, Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende. Mittler, Frankfurt am Main 1969, p.285, georg Tessin, Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg,1939 –1945. Vol. III, Die Landstreitkräfte 6 -14

24.
15th Panzergrenadier Division (Wehrmacht)
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It was not long before it saw action again, this time in Sicily. As the Germans retreated from western Sicily, they halted and began setting up defences in the vicinity of the town of Troina along Highway 120 and this was to become a linchpin of the Etna Line. In pursuit was the US 1st Infantry Division, nicknamed The Big Red One, beginning on September 9,1943, the Allied invasion of mainland Italy, at Salerno and along the beaches to the southeast, found the 15th Panzergrenadiers among the principal defenders. On September 11, elements of the British 46th Infantry Division encountered stiff resistance from the 15th Panzergrenadier and Hermann Göring Divisions around Salerno itself, by mid-November 1943, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division had fallen back to help defend the Bernhardt Line in the vicinity of Mignano along Highway 6. The Battle of San Pietro Infine ensued, after ten days of intense attack and counter-attack, the Allies finally succeeded in gaining the high ground on both flanks. On May 11,1944, the Allies launched Operation Diadem which finally resulted in the collapse of the Gustav Line, the 15th Panzergrenadiers fought the rest of the war on the Western Front. It fought in the Battle of the Bulge, where it participated in the Siege of Bastogne and in Operation Blockbuster and it surrendered to the British at wars end. Heer Flak Battalion Signal, Supply and Support Units Atkinson, Rick, The Day of Battle, The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944

25.
16th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 16th Infantry Division of the German Army was formed in 1934. On 26 August 1939 the division was mobilized for the invasion of Poland and it participated in the Battle of France in 1940. The division was split, resulting in two independent units, The 16th Panzer Division and the 16th Motorized Infantry Division. The latter, from 1944 onward, combined with other non 16th elements, was known as the 116th Panzer Division, the 16th Panzer Division served as a reserve in Romania during the Balkans campaign in 1941. It then participated in Operation Barbarossa with Army Group South, also in 1941, the 16th Panzer Division was encircled and ultimately destroyed at Stalingrad during the winter of 1942–43. It was rebuilt for a campaign in the west, fought in Sicily and southern Italy during the Italian Campaign in 1943, severely mauled near Kiev, it was withdrawn to Poland for rehabilitation in 1944. The 16th Panzer Division returned to the east in 1945, where it surrendered to the Soviets, the 16th Motorized Infantry Division, nicknamed Windhund, participated in the Balkans campaign in 1941 along with the 16th Panzer Division. It took part in Operation Barbarossa with Army Group South later in the year and it advanced on the Caucasus with elements coming to within 20 miles of Astrakhan in 1942 — the most easterly point reached by any German unit during the war. It also participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, the 16th Motorized Infantry Division participated in defensive operations after the Soviets broke up the front of the southern sector. In 1943, it was upgraded to 16th Panzergrenadier Division and this upgraded formation was depleted in the continuous retreats and was transferred to France for rest and refitting. It was reorganized as the 116th Panzer Division, absorbing the 179th Reserve Panzer Division in the process in 1944 and this new formation fought in the Battle of Normandy and was almost destroyed in the Falaise Gap. It subsequently defended the Siegfried Line at Aachen in an understrength condition, the 116th Panzer Division was withdrawn for refitting and then recommitted, but was unable to hold the city of Aachen. It later participated in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest then in the Battle of the Bulge and it was caught in the Wesel Pocket, but got across the Rhine, ultimately surrendering within the Ruhr Pocket in April,1945. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende, mittler, Frankfurt am Main 1969, p.286. Georg Tessin, Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg,1939 -1945, vol. Iv, Die Landstreitkräfte 15 -30

26.
18th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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The German 18th Infantry Division was formed on 1 October 1934 as Infanterieführer III in Liegnitz and renamed 18. Mobilized in August 1939 it participated in the Invasion of Poland, after the French campaign the division was motorized and redesignated 18th Motorized Infantry Division on 1 November 1940 serving on the Eastern Front for the remainder of the war. In June 1943 the division was redesignated 18th Panzergrenadier Division, from September 1939 until May 1940 the division fought in Invasion of Poland and then made up part of the occupation force. From May 1940 until November 1940 the division fought in the Battle of France, formed 1 November 1940 Part of the occupation force in France from November 1940 until June 1941. Fought on the Eastern Front, central sector from June 1941 until January 1942, fought on the Eastern front, northern sector from January 1942 until June 1943 when it was redesignated 18th Panzergrenadier Division. Fought on the Eastern front, northern sector from June 1943 until October 1943, fought on the Eastern front, central sector from October 1943 until September 1944. It was devastated in the Soviet 1944 summer offensive, the remnants of the Division fought in Eastern Prussia and in the Battle of Berlin. The survivors tried to fight their way out of Berlin on 2 May 1945 when Berlin surrendered to the Soviets, hans Boelsen,6 July 1944 –1 January 1945 Generalmajor Josef Rauch,1 January –8 May 1945 Burkhard Müller-Hillebrand, Das Heer 1933-1945. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende, mittler, Frankfurt am Main 1969, p.286. Georg Tessin, Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg,1939 -1945, vol. Iv, Die Landstreitkräfte 15 -30

27.
20th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany. It was established in 1934 under the cover name Reichswehrdienststelle Hamburg, in the autumn of 1937 it was upgraded to a fully motorized division. As the 20th Motorized Infantry Division the unit took part in the invasion of Poland as part of Heinz Guderians XIX Corps. In May 1940 the division part in the invasion of France. In June 1941 it joined Operation Barbarossa under Army Group Centre, in September it was transferred to Army Group North, and it spent most of 1942 on the Volkhov Front. In December it was transferred back to Army Group South for the attempt at the Battle of Velikiye Luki. In July 1943 it was redesignated as 20th Panzergrenadier Division, by time it had been given an assault gun battalion to support its infantry. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende, verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg,1939 -1945. Vol. IV, Die Landstreitkräfte 15 -30

28.
25th Panzergrenadier Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 25th Panzergrenadier Division fought in the central sector of the Eastern front from June 1943 to July 1944. It was destroyed in the encirclement east of Minsk and reformed in October 1944 and it then fought in France between October 1944 and January 1945 and in eastern Germany January to May 1945. Most of the survivors of the division surrendered to the western Allies, the 25th started as an infantry division formed from Swabians and Bavarians. It participated in the Polish Campaign and the Battle of France, in late 1940, it was reorganized as a motorized infantry division and took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, in June 1941. It was attached to Army Group Center and fought in the Soviet Union for two years before being reorganized as the 25th Panzergrenadier Division in June,1943, in November 1944, the brigade was upgraded to divisional status at the Baumholder training area and re-christened the 25th Panzergrenadier Division. The new division moved to France in the area of the German / Luxembourg / French border at Sierck-les-Bains and it was then moved to Bitche. There it fought on the Maginot line fortifications at Forts Ouvrage Simserhof and Ouvrage Schiesseck, under the command of the XIII SS Corps and Obergruppenführer Max Simon. After the US Seventh Armys offensive operations were halted in December as a result of the German Ardennes Offensive and it then took part in Operation Nordwind, along with the 21st Panzer Division. General der Infanterie, Anton Graßer Generalleutnant Dr. Fritz Benicke Generalleutnant Paul Schürmann Generalleutnant Paul Schürmann Generalleutnant Arnold Burmeister Division Staff 25, Panzergrenadier Regiment Staff Company Panzerjäger Platoon Motorcycle Platoon Signals Platoon Pioneer Platoon 3 x Battalions Battalion Staff 3 x Companies Machine Gun Company Infantry Gun Company 25. Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion Battalion Staff Light Armored Car Company 3 x Motorcycle Companies Heavy Company Pioneer Platoon 2 x Panzerjäger Platoons Light Infantry Gun Section 125, Panzerjäger Battalion 3 x Panzerjäger Companies Flak Company 8. Panzer Battalion Staff Company Flak Platoon 3 x Sturmgeschütz Batteries Panzer Maintenance Platoon 25, artillery Regiment Staff Battery 3 x Battalions Staff Battery 3 x Batteries 25. Pioneer Battalion Battalion Staff 3 x Companies Light Pioneer Column 25, entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues, Vol. III, Der Zweifrontenkrieg

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29th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 29th Infantry Division was a unit of the German army created in the fall of 1936. It was based on the old Reichswehr 15th Infantry Regiment and drew its recruits from Thuringia. It was upgraded to 29th Motorized Infantry Division in the fall of 1937, the division was also known as the Falke-Division. The division was mobilized in August 1939 and joined the XIV Corps of the German 10th Army for the invasion of Poland and it took part in the encirclement of Polish forces at Radom, Poland and committed the Massacre in Ciepielów. In December 1939 it was transferred to the west, during the invasion of France it joined the 16th Army. As a strategic reserve it was used during the drive for the English Channel, after the Dunkirk evacuation it joined Heinz Guderians Panzer Group for an advance through eastern France. It was then employed in occupation duties until early 1941, taking part in Operation Barbarossa it was attached to the German 4th Army and took part in a number of actions against isolated Soviet formations at Minsk, Smolensk and Bryansk. It was then sent to support Guderians Panzer Army near Tula, the division lost most of its vehicles and many killed and captured during the retreat from Moscow at Mordves, south of Kashira in the Moscow oblast. In 1942 it spent the first 6 months in action near Orel and it took part in the fighting on the approaches to Stalingrad, and in the city itself. It was redeployed to serve as the 4th Panzer Armys mobile reserve at the end of September, when the Red Armys second pincer attack was launched from the south, the division was pushed into the south-west corner of the pocketed German forces. Having been held in reserve for most of the Stalingrad campaign, on 21 January 1943 it was attacked by the Soviet 21st Army, and was destroyed. It was then reconstituted in France in the spring from the recently formed 345th Infantry Division. It was transferred to the Sicilian Campaign as the 29th Panzergrenadier Division for sometime in the defence of the Northern Route to Messina. Thereafter it fought in Italy at Salerno, Anzio, and San Pietro and was destroyed by the British in northern Italy just before the end of the war, das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg,1939 -1945, vol. IV, Die Landstreitkräfte 15 -30

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90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 90th Light Infantry Division was a light infantry division of the German Army during World War II that served in North Africa as well as Sardinia and Italy. It was re-constituted later in 1943 and deployed to Sardinia and when the expected Allied invasion of Sardinia failed to materialise and it was engaged in actions against the Allies in Italy from 1943 to September 1944 when the division was listed as destroyed south of Bologna. On 26 June 1941, the OKH ordered the creation of a Division HQ staff for Kommando zbV Afrika in Germany, the planned division was intended for deployment to Africa to re-balance, and add infantry troops to the DAK deployed in the Western Desert. The formation headquarters was sent to Africa between late August and mid September 1941 and deployed to command the Sollum area with the first units being attached on 15 October 1941. On 20 October more units were attached and the troops were expanded to full strength with the division becoming known as Division z. b. V. This unit was formed in Potsdam in 1941 from specialist soldiers with experience in the deserts of the Middle East. Two battalions from Sonderverbande 288 and one locally recruited Arab battalion were later amalgamated to form the 155th Rifle Regiment within the division. The 361st Regiment contained 300 legionnaires were had been selected by the Germans from the French Foreign Legion, training was completed in the Bardia area and the division was earmarked by Rommel to lead the attack on Tobruk. On 28 November 1941, the formation was renamed 90. leichte Afrika Division and it fought for the remainder of the North African Campaign, finally surrendering to the Allies in the end of the Tunisia Campaign in May 1943. It was regarded apparently by the 2nd New Zealand Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard C, freyberg VC, as their special foe, as the two formations faced each other on several occasions. General Graf von Sponecks 90th Light Division insisted on giving up to the New Zealanders, as with the other units of the Afrika Korps, replacement units were quickly raised from available troops stationed in Western Europe. As such, the Africa Division was reconstituted as the 90th Panzergrenadier Division in Sardinia during July 1943, evacuated from Corsica with the Sturmbrigade Reichsführer SS to the Italian mainland in October 1943, the division appeared opposite both the Americans and British as they pushed north. It was then nearly wiped out in the bitter fighting with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division along the Moro River in late November 1943. A short time later it was withdrawn into reserve at Frosinone, shifted southeast from the Franco-Italian border in September 1944, 90th Grenadier was finally listed as destroyed in the fighting south of Bologna. The remainder of its personnel surrendered to the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in Italy in April 1945, the division formed part of the Afrika Korps during its deployment to North Africa. Foreign Legions of the Third Reich, Volume 1, Norway, Denmark, Western Desert Campaign List of German divisions in World War II

31.
Brandenburgers
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The Brandenburgers were members of the Brandenburg German Special forces unit during World War II. Originally the unit was formed by and operated as an extension of the militarys intelligence organ, members of this unit took part in seizing operationally important targets by way of sabotage and infiltration. Not unlike many of the military units within the Nazi war machine. Hippel proposed that small units, trained in sabotage and fluent in languages, could operate behind enemy lines and wreak havoc with the enemys command, communication. Canaris was at first against the proposal as he viewed such measures similar to what the Bolsheviks had done and was suspicious of Hippels motives. Still determined to form the unit, Hippel looked to his chief, Helmuth Groscurth, who supported the units formation. Just a few days subsequent their meeting, the Army General Staff put forth a directive authorizing the creation of a company of saboteurs for the West, as part of the Abwehrs 2nd Department, Hippel was tasked with creating the unit. Brandenburg units were deployed as small commando outfits to penetrate enemy territory. Despite their demonstrated successes while incurring minimum casualties, many traditionally minded German officers still found their use abhorrent, dissimilar to the German Fallschirmjäger who used the element of surprise attacks and overwhelmed the enemy by force of arms, the Brandenburg troops relied on deception. Most of them were fluent in languages, which allowed them to penetrate into the Netherlands in 1940 disguised as Dutch barge crews. In 1941, they preceded the invasion of Yugoslavia undercover as Serbian workers, correspondingly, Department II of the Abwehr, under which the Brandenburgers were subsumed, had a distinct sub-component for army, navy, and air force operations. Many of the Brandenburgers were misfits who could hardly be characterized as conventional soldiers and they would mingle with enemy soldiers, secretly countermand orders, redirect military convoys, and disrupt communications—all the while collecting intelligence along the way. The predecessor formation to the Brandenburg Division was the Battalion Ebbinghaus which originated even before the war against Poland in 1939, the first members of the K-Trupps were German nationals. Generally these men were civilians who had never served in the army but were trained by the Abwehr and were led by army officers. After the Polish campaign, this changed as these commandos soon became members of the Wehrmacht, despite their seeming lack of prior experience, the demands placed on these newly formed commandos were high. It was mandatory that they volunteered for duty for example. Eventually, the guiding principle which required members of the Division Brandenburg to be volunteers ended with their increasing use. Battalion Ebbinghaus engaged in atrocities against Polands population and captured PoWs, further massacres happened in Siemanowice on 8 September where 6 Poles were murdered by execution, on 1 October 1939, Battalion Ebbinghaus murdered 18 people in Nowy Bytom

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1st Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 1st Mountain Division was an elite formation of the German Wehrmacht during World War II, and is remembered for its involvement in multiple large scale war crimes. It was created on 9 April 1938 in Garmisch Partenkirchen from the Mountain Brigade which was formed on 1 June 1935. The division consisted mainly of Bavarians and some Austrians, the 1st Mountain Division fought in the Invasion of Poland as a part of Army Group South and distinguished itself during fighting in the Carpathians and at Lwów. It subsequently took part in the Battle of France and was selected to take part in the operations against the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. With Felix cancelled, the took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941 as part of the 2nd Army. The 1st Mountain Division participated in Operation Barbarossa, on 30 June, the division captured Lvov. There, the Germans discovered several thousand bodies of prisoners who had executed by the NKVD. The 1st Mountain Division continued its advance into the Soviet Union, participating in the breakthrough of the Stalin Line, in May 1942, the division fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov and then participated in the offensive through southern Russia and into the Caucasus. In a symbolic move, the division sent a detachment to raise the German flag on Mount Elbrus on 21 August. Although the feat was widely publicized by Goebbels, Hitler was furious at this, in November 1943, the division returned to Yugoslavia, where it took part in operations Operation Kugelblitz, Schneesturm and Waldrausch. In March 1944, the division was engaged in the Operation Margarethe, after the operation Rübezahl in Yugoslavia in August 1944, the division took part in defensive fighting against Red Army in Belgrade Offensive, and suffered severe losses. During the operation, the commander, general Stettner, was killed in the battle on 17 October on Avala mountain near Belgrade. In late November, it was transferred in Baranja, to the most endangered spot of the German defense and its final major operations were near Lake Balaton against the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Two months later the division surrendered to the Americans in Austria. During the Invasion of Poland, soldiers from the division assisted in the round-up of Jewish civilians from Przemyśl for forced labour and this event was documented in the divisional photographic album. Picture captions demonstrate strong anti-semitism by the authors, in the after battle report on 10 July, the division reported that it took 498 prisoners,411 of whom were shot. On 6 July 1943 a unit from the division attacked the village of Borovë in Albania, all of the village houses and buildings were completely burned or otherwise destroyed. During the massacre,107 inhabitants were killed including 5 entire families, the youngest victim was an infant of only 4 months, the oldest a woman of 73

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2nd Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 2nd Mountain Division was a Gebirgsjäger division of the German Army which served in World War II, mainly in the northern sector of the Eastern Front, near the Arctic. Formed in 1938, the division was disbanded at the end of the war in 1945. Following the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938, based at Innsbruck, part of Wehrkreis XVIII, most of its men were from the Tyrol region of Austria. Commanded by Generalleutnant Valentin Feurstein, it fought as part of Army Group South during the Invasion of Poland and then took part in Operation Weserübung, the Norwegian Campaign in 1940. It carried out a cross country march to rescue the 3rd Mountain Division, the division moved into Lapland as part of Mountain Corps Norway in 1941, to participate in Operation Silberfuchs, the attack on the Soviet Arctic as part of Operation Barbarossa. It drove for Murmansk but was unsuccessful in the face of strong Soviet defence and it continued to serve in the Arctic region until late 1944, when the Finns negotiated the Moscow Armistice with the Soviet Union. The division had to withdraw to Norway, fighting off Soviet forces as it did so, back in mainland Europe, its depleted infantry regiments were brought back up to strength. In 1945, the division was transferred to the Western Front, during this period, its commander, Generalleutnant Hans Degen, was wounded and had to be replaced by Generalleutnant Willibald Utz. While earlier in the war it was considered an elite unit and it finished the war in Württemberg where Utz surrendered it to the Western Allies

34.
3rd Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 3rd Mountain Division was a formation of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was created from the Austrian Armys 5th and 7th Divisions following the Anschluss in 1938, the division took part in the Invasion of Poland 1939 as part of Army Group South, but was transferred to garrison the West Wall before the end of the campaign. In 1940 it joined the invasion of Norway, most famously sending its 139th Mountain Regiment under General Eduard Dietl to seize the ice-free Arctic port of Narvik, the Allies briefly managed to take the town back, but abandoned it to the Germans after the invasion of France. In 1941 the division moved into Lapland to participate in Operation Silberfuchs, the attack on the Soviet Arctic as part of Operation Barbarossa, the division was withdrawn to Germany for rehabilitation at the end of the year, but left its 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment behind to operate independently. After rehabilitation, the returned to Norway in 1942, where it served as a reserve. It was then transferred to the Eastern Front, where it served as a reserve for Army Group North near Leningrad. In November 1942 it was committed to the front where the Soviets had surrounded Velikiye Luki, and then transferred to the far south to help in the attempt to relieve Stalingrad. It fought the remainder of the war in the south, retreating with the front lines through the Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, die Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939—1945

35.
4th Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 4th Mountain Division was established in October 1940. It took part in the 1941 Balkans Campaign and then joined Army Group South in Operation Barbarossa after it was already underway, in 1942 it participated in the failed attempt to seize the Caucasus in Operation Edelweiss under Army Group A. Die Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939—1945

36.
5th Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 5th Mountain Division was established in the Austrian Tirol in October 1940, out of regiments taken from the 1st Mountain Division and the 10th Infantry Division. Its first action was in the 1941 Balkans Campaign, when it took part in Operations Marita and Merkur, in the latter it was used in an air-landing role. In November, it returned to Germany for refitting, and in April 1942 it was deployed to the Eastern Front, in April 1943 it was redeployed to Italy. It fought out the remainder of the war in Italy and the Western Alps, julius Ringel Max-Günther Schrank Hans Steets Tessin, Georg. Die Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939—1945

37.
6th Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 6th Mountain Division was established in June 1940, and was deployed to France for occupation duties. In December it was relocated to Poland, where it remained until the spring of 1941 and it then took part in Operation Marita, the invasion of Greece during the Balkans Campaign. In September it was relocated to northern Finland, where it operated in Lapland, from July 1942 onward it was part of the 20th Mountain Army along the Arctic coast. It withdrew into Norway when the Germans evacuated Finland in late 1944, and surrendered to the British at the end of the war in 1945

38.
7th Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)
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In 1942, it was sent to Finland and remained there until the Finnish withdrawal from the war. The division retreated into Norway where it remained until the end of the war, leichte Infanterie-Division Emil Schuler - Mit dem Bergschuh in Rußland und Finnland, Kriegserlebnisse und Kriegserfahrungen der 7

Now lying within Helsinki, Suomenlinna is a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site consisting of an inhabited 18th century sea fortress built on six islands. It is one of Finland's most popular tourist attractions.

Werner Goldberg (1919 – 2004), who was blond and blue-eyed, was used in Wehrmacht recruitment posters as the "ideal German soldier". He was later "dismissed" after it became known that he was a "Mischling ersten Grades" as defined by the Nuremberg Laws, having half Jewish ancestry.